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See the 'Star of India,' decades after it was nabbed in a heist [NYC]
https://www.livescience.com ^ | JUNE 11, 2021 | By Mindy Weisberger - Senior Writer

Posted on 06/11/2021 11:51:04 AM PDT by Red Badger

At 563 carats, the Star of India is the world’s largest gem-quality blue star sapphire, and is approximately 2 billion years old. (Image credit: D. Finnin/Copyright AMNH)

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What does the legendary Star of India — a 563-carat star sapphire the size of a golf ball — have in common with a 35-million-year-old petrified redwood slab; a massive cluster of sword-like crystals that looks like it came from "Game of Thrones;" and a 5-ton (4.5-metric ton) stone pillar that can "sing?"

You can see all of them, along with 5,000 other amazing stones, in the newly renovated Mignone Hall of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which is reopening after a four-year closure on Saturday (June 12). There, one-of-a-kind precious gems appear alongside odd-looking rocks — some of which date to billions of years ago — that have been uniquely warped and twisted by extreme temperatures and pressures.

Individually and together, these objects tell a story of the diverse geologic processes that shape minerals on Earth's surface and deep inside our planet, beginning when the world was young and continuing to this day, museum representatives told Live Science.

Related: 13 mysterious and cursed gemstones

The Star of India, which formed about a billion years ago, was discovered in Sri Lanka in the 18th century. It is one of the best-known gems in the world, in part because it was famously and brazenly stolen from AMNH in 1964, along with several more of the museum's prized stones, by a pair of thieves named Jack "Murf the Surf" Murphy and Allan Kuhn, Smithsonian reported in 2014, on the heist's 50th anniversary. (The one-of-a-kind sapphire was recovered and went back on display in 1965).

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Education; History; Travel
KEYWORDS: allankuhn; aluminium; aluminiumoxide; aluminum; aluminumoxide; bluestarsapphire; chromium; corundum; godsgravesglyphs; heist; iron; jackmurphy; magnesium; murfthesurf; sapphire; srilanka; starofindia; startrekiv; titanium; undead; vanadium
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To: Tax-chick
You said that this game would be interesting...
5,321 posted on 12/27/2021 5:20:37 AM PST by zzeeman ("We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality." )
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To: zzeeman

“Birds out there. Kill.”


5,322 posted on 12/27/2021 5:21:29 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Monkey Face
Happy Last Monday of this year!

Just remember, today is the first Monday of the rest of your life.

Wait, that doesn't come out as philosophical as it's supposed to.

5,323 posted on 12/27/2021 5:29:01 AM PST by ArGee (2022 has to be better than 2021. I keep telling myself.)
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To: ArGee

You could always wait until next week to say it... ;o]


5,324 posted on 12/27/2021 5:30:10 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: zzeeman

It gets below 50%? Who knew? Even when I was living in Del Rio it wasn’t that low...;o]


5,325 posted on 12/27/2021 5:31:20 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

Family has gone off to after-Christmas shopping, except for Patrick, who says he has a cold and plans to stay home from work. That reminds me, I don’t remember the last time he paid his rent and insurance bills.


5,326 posted on 12/27/2021 6:45:40 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Monkey Face

It’s quite warm and sunny here. I’m going to try to stay awake all day. At least until it gets dark.

On a new topic, I just got an email from the Catholic homeschooling group about houses for sale in a “good” neighborhood near a “good” church. One was listed at $600,000 and one at over $700,000!

The originator of the email said, “We’d love to have more Catholic families in the neighborhood!” I can’t think of a polite way to say that “Catholic” and “rich, white, and better-than-you” aren’t the same thing, but maybe something will come to me the next time.


5,327 posted on 12/27/2021 7:02:12 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

It will be Saturday before I’m in Walmart again. This week is one in which I studiously avoid all unnecessary shopping. Period. *shudder* I really don’t like crowds.

The email sounds rather elitist, white and snobbish, actually.

I just removed all the Nativities but one tiny one and sorted through my desk accumulation. Now, I need to remember which box has the little drawer sorter and get it put up here, then file the things that had been piling up. However, since the new year is almost upon us, I’ll be purging and shredding except for the papers that have accumulated since I moved.

A job I can do on my “sit-upon” since I don’t really want to endure standing. I need to get on the phone to AAA.


5,328 posted on 12/27/2021 7:11:43 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

It’s just kind of weird to assume that everyone is a 1%-er. I think it gives a poor impression.

I’m writing thank-you notes, and then, if there’s time before the Others return, I’ll work on cleaning my closet.


5,329 posted on 12/27/2021 7:31:31 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

I need to do thank you notes, but at the moment, I’m on the phone to AAA.

Unngh.


5,330 posted on 12/27/2021 7:33:57 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

The podiatrist isn’t open today. I’ll have to call them tomorrow.


5,331 posted on 12/27/2021 7:49:46 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

I don’t know if this was a group of Christians who was trying do encourage people moving in, but I’m never surprised at how people who purport to follow a homeless man hold onto so much wealth.


5,332 posted on 12/27/2021 7:56:02 AM PST by ArGee (2022 has to be better than 2021. I keep telling myself.)
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To: Tax-chick; ArGee

It took 50 minutes for that little transaction. Bless his heart, he said at the end of the call, “Welcome to Arkansas!”

So now, once I get the proofs printed and the e-signatures done, I can register the Highlander, and from what FS said on Christmas Day as we were driving around in “Miles,” it’s $1 a pound for vehicle registration. Unladen weight. Piece of cake!! :o]


5,333 posted on 12/27/2021 8:12:00 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Tax-chick; ArGee

Correction:

Not $1 a pound, but 10%...sorry.


5,334 posted on 12/27/2021 8:13:25 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

Wow, that seems like a lot.


5,335 posted on 12/27/2021 8:20:24 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: ArGee

They could be very generous people. I don’t know them personally.

I just think there’s something weird about assuming that all the unknown participants in an email group of a hundred or more are $700,000-house people. It makes me think these people don’t get out of their bubble very much.


5,336 posted on 12/27/2021 8:26:25 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

I’ll be paying about $40. It was twice that in Utah and Nevada for the Tracker which was a ‘92. In NV, I started out paying about $35, and it was slated to go down as the vehicle aged. But then, we had a Democrat governor and all of a sudden, the registration doubled because of all the taxes they added, and there was no exemption for less miles driven.

So, newer car, less miles, new state — I can almost live with it. They’ve broken it down into five months on the insurance, rather than six so someone is scamming us. Greed seems to be the motivator these days.


5,337 posted on 12/27/2021 8:29:56 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

I’m glad you don’t think it’s too much for you.

I just got an emailed receipt from the Lego Store, so I know where my family is and what they’re doing!


5,338 posted on 12/27/2021 8:39:49 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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To: Tax-chick

Well, it IS too much but it’s what I have to work with, so I’ll just have to see what I can do to cut costs elsewhere.

I just got off the phone with North Little Rock! I have an appointment for next Wednesday, the 5th at the local pain clinic!! YES!!! At 0730! I’ll be a happy person, when I come out of that place.

FS is working out of town this week, or I would have had him take me to NLR for the appointment. This is better. Not sure if the car will be functional, but at least I have the appointment!


5,339 posted on 12/27/2021 8:51:50 AM PST by Monkey Face ("...repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the ... power of the adversary." BK Packer)
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To: Monkey Face

Woo-hooo! It’s about time!

It sounds like that’s a bit of a distance, but it’s not as if you’ll go there every day. Hopefully they won’t give you any flack.


5,340 posted on 12/27/2021 8:55:46 AM PST by Tax-chick (Nature, art, silence, simplicity, peace. And fungi.)
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